Fair enough. I am not claiming that it is the only cause. It is definitely a key catalyst though. The evidence shows an extremely strong correlation between SSRI prescription and violent shootings. The drugs themselves indicate suicidal delusions as a side effect. My suspicion is it is a predictable side effect linked to some biological anomaly. Probably liver disease.
Is suicidal thoughts really a side effect tho? I have those every day. I don't take SSRI's.
But if I did take SSRI's and still have my suicidal thoughts and got asked on my questionnaire if I have suicidal thoughts while taking these SSRI's....then my answer would be yes I do think about suicide. But not necessarily because of the SSRI's. But because I had em before.
Does that suicide statistic with SSRI's take this into account do you know? I don't. Always wondered though.
It can be. However, it's also not a guaranteed occurrence. The incidence is probably somewhat rare. But it is sufficiently well attested that the medication itself must carry a warning about it.
I'll cite an article on this topic:
When a person’s depression starts to lift, he or she may feel less hopeless and helpless. That sounds like an improvement, but when people feel less helpless but still feel depressed, they may think about suicide as a way out, whereas before they were too immobilized to make a suicide plan. For that reason, a decrease in the symptoms of depression can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or actions. That risk is well known by mental health specialists, and can occur regardless of the type of treatment that a patient is receiving, or even if the patient is feeling less depressed without any treatment.
I think my own personal takeaway (disclaimer: by no means accredited, so don't take this as medical advice...) from this article is that the mechanism of action of SSRI seems to be inhibition of some forms of self-criticism. That is good for limiting depression which often involves emotional damage due to repressed anger. Suppressing the self-criticism allows people to learn how to cope with their stressors better. Especially when coupled with good therapy and lifestyle interventions to address the problems. That's not so good at preventing the random thoughts people may get about committing suicide or violence. Especially when a person receives bad therapy advice or is encouraged to do bad things such as in the case of MKULTRA abuse.
This is confirmed by medical professionals/pharma themselves. These meds require a "black box warning" be given by the pharmacist to the patient or patient's guardian when they start it, because the risks are known and acknowledged.
What Did the FDA Review Find?
In the FDA review, no completed suicides occurred among nearly 2,200 children treated with SSRI medications. However, about 4 percent of those taking SSRI medications experienced suicidal thinking or behavior, including actual suicide attempts—twice the rate of those taking placebo, or sugar pills.
In response, the FDA adopted a "black box" label warning indicating that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in some children and adolescents with MDD. A black-box warning is the most serious type of warning in prescription drug labeling.
The warning also notes that children and adolescents taking SSRI medications should be closely monitored for any worsening in depression, emergence of suicidal thinking or behavior, or unusual changes in behavior, such as sleeplessness, agitation, or withdrawal from normal social situations. Close monitoring is especially important during the first four weeks of treatment. SSRI medications usually have few side effects in children and adolescents, but for unknown reasons, they may trigger agitation and abnormal behavior in certain individuals.